Ninja Platinum
by Fireshadow246
Summary: What happens when ninja get sucked into a world that is not their own? Follow Kakashi and a few other nin when they somehow get sucked into the world of Pokemon Platinum! Rated T for language, and little animal-like things beating each other up.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello, people. This is a little story that's been on my mind for a really, really long time now. (since I got my platinum the day it came out) So I decided, I might as well start on it. This is like, an intro chapter and depending on the type of feedback it gets, I'll see if I keep it going, but for now, this is it, I might post up the second chapter soon though, (how soon depends on you) So here it is. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Pokémon Platinum. I write for fun, not money.

* * *

"Wha-… Ugh-… What hit me?" A pale hand reached up ad rubbed at the temples hidden under spiky, silver hair, trying to stop the pounding pain felt there. After the pain stopped a little, half-lidded eyes scanned the dark surroundings and the silver-haired man snapped to attention. It was odd, he didn't feel any other presences in the area, but he could hear some movement.

"Ah, you're up!" Came a deep, powerful voice. "Welcome to the world of Pokémon."

"What the hell? Where am I? Who are you?"

The lights came on, revealing a tall man with white hair and a white mustache. He was dressed rather fancily, definitely not a ninja, the silver-haired man thought.

"I am Rowan." The man said. "But you may call me the Pokémon Professor. Or Professor Rowan. You choose."

"Where am I?" He asked again.

"This is the world of Pokémon." The Professor said again. "A world inhabited by creatures known as Pokémon."

"Pokémon?"

The Professor pulled out a spherical object from the bag he had with him. "This is a Poké Ball." He explained. The ball was red on top and white on the bottom. It had a white button in the middle of it. He pushed the button and a small blue thing came out. The silver-haired man couldn't find words to describe it. "This is but one of many, many Pokémon in this world. At times people and Pokémon play together, at other times they work together. Some people use Pokémon to battle and grow along side them, creating close bonds with them."

"Okay… But, how did I get here?"

"I can't really say, but my assistants and I found you on the beach. You are now in Twinleaf Town. You were out cold for a few days."

"Assistants? What is it you do?"

"As I said earlier, I am a Pokémon Professor, meaning I conduct research to learn more about Pokémon in the world. But that's enough of that. Tell me about you."

"Eh…" What should he do? Was what the man said true? Was he really in another world? Should he tell the man about himself? But what if it was a trap?

"You have a name, don't you?" The man asked.

Ah, to hell with it. "Hatake Kakashi." Kakashi replied.

"Interesting name, Kakashi. By the way, this other strange fellow was found along with you. "Rowan said, pointing to another bed in the corner.

"Oh, Kami." Kakashi grumbled.

"You know him?" Rowan asked.

"Unfortunately." Kakashi replied.

The man on the other bed stirred, grumbled something and snapped awake, eyes darting around and they landed on Kakashi.

"MY HIP AND COOL ETERNAL RIVAL!" The other man exclaimed. He ran over and crushed Kakashi in a "manly" bear hug.

"Gai…" Kakashi wheezed. "Can't… Breathe."

"Oh, sorry." Gai put Kakashi down and finally noticed Professor Rowan. He suddenly got very serious and motioned to Kakashi. "Kakashi, who is that?" He whispered.

"Oh, that's Professor Rowan. I don't think he's a threat." Kakashi answered.

"Well, then! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Gai said, turning to Rowan.

"Okay then, you two." Rowan began. "I think you two should stick together for now. Who knows, you might even start your own adventures,"

"Adventure?" Both Konoha-Nins asked.

"Yes, adventure. Who knows, you might even learn more about yourselves. But for now, I think you should rest some more. We'll keep in touch." Rowan said and everything went dark once again.

* * *

Love it? Hate it? Review! Please?


	2. Chapter 2

AN: OMG, it is with great joy that I post this second chapter of Ninja Platinum. First reason I am glad is because of Wordsplat, who is just pure awesomeness and because of them, this story will keep on going and it will have KakaIru in later chapters. ^_^ Second reason for my happiness. I have just finished watching Kakashi Gaiden. Yes, i waid WATCH because it has FINALLY after months of me wishing and hoping been animated and I couldn't be happier! It was emotional rollercoaster (for me) and we get to see shots of the White Fang in color! Woot! Ok, so I just wanna say, yes, I know the chapters a re short now, but they'll pick up soon. I just have to get some things out of the way first so bear with me for a while. I think that's about it for now. I must spread the happiness! ^_^

Disclaimer: Naruto and Pokemon are not mine. It's a downer on my happy mood, but its true...

* * *

"_**Despite the exploration team's best efforts, the rare, oddly colored Pokémon avoided detection. The rumored red Gyarados failed to appear."**_

"_**That concludes our special report, 'Search for the Red Gyarados', brought to you by Jubilife TV on Nationwide Net. See you next time."**_

"Hmph." Kakashi turned off the TV. He's been in this world of Pokemon for about a week or so, and he's learned a lot. This world is very different from the world he came from. First of all, there were NO NINJA! That meant, no weapon shops, which meant he would have to make do with what he had on him at the time. He still didn't know how he got here. As a matter of fact, he doesn't really remember anything that could help him figure it out. He did know one thing, though. He had his pack with him, so he guessed he was on a mission, and Gai was there too, so he must have been on the mission as well. But what bothers him is the fact that he can't remember a mission. The last thing he actually remembers is being summoned to Tsunade's office in the middle of training team 7.

He was pondering these thoughts all week, but nothing came back. He went downstairs to get something to eat.

* * *

Breakfast was uneventful and now Kakashi was sitting on his couch, reading some books he found on a shelf. He was bored. He got up to put the book back on his shelf when Gai burst in through the front door.

"Eternal Rival!" He exclaimed. "Are you as bored as I am!?"

Gai? Bored? That was bad.

"I don't know how bored you are, but I'm pretty bored."

"Let's go find a place to train! That will restore our youthfulness!"

"Sure, whatever."

There was a lake nearby, Lake Verity, and they decided to go there to train. It would be 1) hidden and safe and 2) the perfect place to see if they could still use chakra in this world.

They were nearing the entrance when Kakashi stopped mid-step and hissed in pain, clutching his side. He had to kneel down on one knee, the pain was so great.

"Kakashi! What happened!?" Gai asked, serious, but semi-panicking.

"I- I don't- know." He hissed. "It just-"Kakashi's head snapped up in alarm. "-I sense- something… something bad." He found himself up and staggered towards the lake, but when they entered, there was nothing there.

"Kakashi?"

"I could have sworn- I-" He didn't finish his sentence because he collapsed.

* * *

When Kakashi came to, he was back in his bed and Gai was hovering over him with a worried look on his face.

"Aah!" That was not the thing you want to wake up to in the morning.

"Eternal Rival! You are up! You gave us all quite a scare."

"Us?"

Kakashi sat up and looked around his room. Gai was there, obviously, but so were professor Rowan and his assistants, Dawn and Lucas.

"How do you feel Kakashi?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah. Gai told us you collapsed and we rushed right over." Lucas explained.

"You were only out about half a day." Rowan added.

"Are you okay?" Gai asked.

"Yeah, I'm better now. It doesn't hurt anymore."

"What happened?" Rowan asked.

"I don't know. We were getting closer to the lake when I felt a pain in my side, then I sensed something bad, like an evil chakra or something."

"Chakra?" Rowan asked.

"Yeah." Kakashi began to explain the basics of chakra and why they were going to the lake in the first place.

"Interesting." Rowan said. "I never would have imagined…"

"That. Is. So." Dawn began.

"COOL!" Lucas finished.

"Well. There's more than one reason we came over, Kakashi, Gai. We may have found out more on how you got here." Rowan said.

"Really?" Gai asked.

"Yes, but we'll discuss it tomorrow. Rest up and come by my lab first thing. I'll be waiting. Dawn, Lucas, let's go."

"Yes Professor." They both said. They bowed to Kakashi and Gai before following the Professor out.

"Kakashi. You said you sensed an evil chakra." Gai said once the three visitors left.

"Yeah, but… I'm not entirely sure."

"Do you think…"

"We might not be the only ones."

Silence filled the small room.

"Well then," Gai said, full of youthfulness. "We should rest up. Perhaps we will find out more tomorrow."

Gai got up and crossed the room… 5 feet before plopping himself down on a bed roll he managed to find somewhere.

"Gai. What are you doing?"

"I'm spending the night. I can't leave you here on your own."

"Yes, you can."

"Nonsense. I'll be here. If you need me, just call out."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hello, readers! ^_^ This is a short chapter, but it _might_ explain some things... I think. Anyway, Iruka and Naruto finally make an appearance and things start to make _some_ progress. Things are finally kinda moving forward! Enjoy.  


* * *

"Iruka-sensei!"

"What is it, Naruto?"

"I'm bored."

"Don't you have training with the rest of your team?"

"Nope. Kakashi-sensei's on a mission. He's been gone for like, two weeks now."

"Two weeks?"

"Yup. Anyway, can we get some ramen? We haven't hung out in forever."

"Sure Naruto, of course we can."

* * *

"Tsunade-sama. It's been two weeks. They should have been back by now." The ANBU in a cat mask said. "The council is getting restless and the search team has returned, but found nothing except for signs of a major battle at their last known location. You have to make a decision. Now."

"I know that." Tsunade snapped. "Tell the council I'm sending out a second team. I will find Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Shizune!"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade?"

"Bring me Umino Iruka, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee. Immediately."

"Right away."

* * *

"Ah! That was good. Thanks Iruka-sensei."

"No problem, Naruto."

"Umino Iruka, Uzumaki Naruto. The Hokage has summoned you. Report to the tower immediately." Shizune said. She bowed and left, just like that.

"Come on Naruto. Let's go." Iruka paid the tab and they were off.

When they got there, Lee and Neji had already arrived. Tsunade did not look pleased.

"Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto reporting for duty." Iruka said.

"Finally." Tsunade said. "Okay, listen up because I'm only saying this once. The four of you are on a retrieval mission. Iruka, you lead the team."

"Retrieval?"

"Yes. Your mission is to search for and retrieve Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai." At this, the four nin straightened up in semi-shock. "They've been missing for a little over two weeks with no contact at all. They were on a mission to deliver a very important scroll. It was delivered, but they never made it back. Your mission is to go to their last confirmed location, search for them and bring them back or report any strange sightings. Shizune will accompany you in case her skill is needed. You leave first thing tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." All four nin bowed and left to pack and prepare for the mission.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Yay! Things are moving forward! Sorry for the slow start, but I had to get a bunch of things out of the way first. This chapter has a bunch of little treats in it, one of them being a grown man's first Pokémon battle! (you'll have to wait to see who ;D) Anyway, the last chapter was kinda really short, so I posted this one up ahead of time as a gift! ^_^ The next one might go up tomorrow...

Disclaimer: Naruto and Pokémon Platinum are not mine! I write for fun, not profit so get off my case!

* * *

"Gai, hurry up! We have to go."

"998, 999, 1000! Yosh! What is the plan my youthful rival?"

"Well, we're not supposed to go in the tall grass, so we're going through the trees to get there."

"How long will it take to get there?"

"Five minutes? Maybe less. Depends."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let us depart!"

"Ah, there you two are. Follow me" Rowan said as he led them to a large screen. "As I said last night, we have a theory on how you arrived in our world. Dawn, if you please."

"Yes professor" Dawn turned the lights off and the screen lit up. A huge map appeared.

"This is a map of the Sinnoh region, where we are now. And these," Dark splotches appeared on the map. "Are vortex-like portals of some sort. As you can see, one of them is right around this area, above Twinleaf and Sandgem town. There are also a few others around various routes and towns across the region."

"So, you're saying we got sucked out of our world and into this world through one of those things?" Kakashi asked.

"Something along those lines, yes. And the appearance of the other portals could possibly mean more of you." Rowan explained.

"We were right." Kakashi said, mostly to himself.

Gai was looking at the screen and pointing to where the vortexes were. Dawn was telling him the name of their locations.

"Kakashi, Gai, I think it would be a good idea if you two travelled around to the places on the map and see if you find anymore of your people." Rowan suggested.

"Eternal Rival!" Gai said, turning to Kakashi. "That is a most youthful idea!"

"I guess it makes sense. But we're not equipped for travel in this world."

"I can help you with that. Lucas."

"Here you go Professor."

"Thank you. Kakashi, Gai, I am willing to give you your first Pokémon if you do me a favor."

"What?"

"I want you to help me with my research."

"And how will we do that?"

"With these." The professor pulled out two red pokédexes.

"This is a Pokédex. Whenever you encounter a Pokémon, open the Pokédex and point it at it. It will give you a tid bit of information along with its type. You can do some handy things with it as well."

"That sounds easy, I guess." Kakashi said, taking a Pokédex and examining it. "Now, about those Pokémon."

"Ah, yes. Here I have three Pokémon: Turtwig, the grass Pokémon, Piplup, the water Pokémon and Chimchar, the fire Pokémon." Rowan named them as he called them out. "You may choose one."

"I choose the Turtwig!" Gai said. "It looks as if it's in the springtime of its youth!"

"And it's green…" Kakashi mumbled.

"Kakashi, which will you choose?"

"I'll take the Chimchar."

"Both are fine choices. Now, you're going to need new packs."

"Why?" Kakashi asked. "Our packs are just fine."

"For your world, yes, but they lack the proper compartments for storage."

"Taken care of." Kakashi stated.

"Really?"

"Of course. It's quite simple, actually. Kakashi pulled out a few thin scrolls. "We stash things in scrolls all the time back home."

"Brilliant! That is why you are my Eternal Rival, Kakashi! I haven't thought of that!"

"That's why I'm the genius." Kakashi said. "So, Professor. What now?"

"I guess that's all. Take these maps and you can begin your adventure."

"Thank you, good sir, for all you have done to help my rival and I adjust to this new world. We're off!" Gai said as he bowed and left the lab.

"Uh, yeah. What he said." Kakashi bowed and left as well.

A lesson on Pokémon centers, Pokémarts and how to catch Pokémon from Dawn later, Kakashi and Gai were finally on their way.

Professor Rowan was kind enough to start them off with 200 poké each and Lucas gave them each 5 Pokéballs. After agreeing that it was more logical to stick together rather than split up, the duo made their way through route 202 to get to Jubilife City.

"Kakashi, these Pokémon are weird creatures, aren't they?"

"They sure are. Kinda small too."

"How do you think we got here? I mean, besides the whole vortex theory."

Kakashi sighed. "I'll take that as a confession of 'you can't remember shit either'."

They were walking through a patch of grass when a bird-like Pokémon appeared in front of them.

"Whoa. You're seeing this too, right?" Kakashi asked, looking at the bird.

"I think it wants a battle." Gai observed.

"It's a bird. It's like, a foot tall and it's oddly… cute? Did I just say cute?"

"If you're not going to fight it, I will."

"Oh, right. Uh… Go, Chimchar." Kakashi threw the pokéball and Chimchar came out. "Scratch." Kakashi commanded.

"Chim." Chimchar nodded and it lunged at the Pokémon.

"Kakashi, the Pokédex says it's a Starly. Are you going to catch it?" Gai asked.

Kakashi pulled out his own Pokédex.

"_**Starly, the starling Pokémon. Because they are weak individually, they form groups. However, they bicker if the group grows too big."**_

"Wow, this thing talks." Kakashi said, looking at the Pokédex. "Sure. I'll catch it."

Chimchar managed to scratch the Starly, but it recovered and tackled Chimchar.

"Chimchar, keep scratching it until its weak enough to catch." Kakashi commanded.

"Chim." Chimchar nodded once again and charged towards the Starly. It attacked and Starly took the hit. The wild Starly started to look a little tired.

"I think that's good enough." Kakashi said. He pulled out a Pokéball and pushed the button in the middle to make the ball bigger. He threw the pokéball and it hit the Starly. They waited as the ball kept moving until it finally stopped and the button in the middle stopped flashing. "Well, how do you like that? I actually caught it." Kakashi mused. He went over to the pokéball and picked it up. Chimchar came over and Kakashi turned to him. "You did good." He said and patted it on the head. "Take a rest. You deserve it." Chimchar looked proud to be praised by his trainer and cheered happily as he got sent back in the ball. "Welcome to the team." Kakashi said to the pokéball containing the newly caught Starly. He put it on his belt next to Chimchar's.

"Kakashi, you may have one more Pokémon than me now, but I won't lose!" Gai exclaimed. "Next wild Pokémon to appear will be caught by me! Just you wait!"

'_When did this become a challenge?' _"Gai, your yelling is scaring them away."

"Oh, uh, oops. Heh heh." Gai scratched the back of his head while smiling a smile that had to be too bright for whatever the hell time it was.

"Let's just keep going." Kakashi said and the journey continued.

* * *

"Okay, team. Our mission is to travel 30 miles North of Fire Country borders in search of Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei. Understood?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei." The four other leaf-nin replied.

"Good. Now, let's move out."

"Hai."

* * *

It didn't take long for Naruto to make his way to Iruka's side.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked in a hushed tone, not wanting the others to hear.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Do you think Kakashi-sensei's okay? I mean, two weeks is a long time to be missing, right?

"It is, but I'm sure he's fine. He might have just gotten caught up in something."

"I haven't been this worried about him since the mission to the land of Waves…" Naruto said quietly.

Iruka remembered when Naruto told him about that horrendous mission. How Kakashi collapsed when he exhausted himself through overuse of the Sharingan.

"What if he's lying somewhere unconscious?"

"Then we'll find him."

"What if he's dead?"

Iruka tensed a little at the possibility of Kakashi being dead.

"Let's just hope he's not. Besides, I'm pretty sure he isn't."

Naruto's mood seemed to lift a bit at his former sensei's words.

"Now, get back into position."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei."

_'I really hope you aren't dead, Kakashi.' _Iruka thought.

* * *

ANII: I combined this chapter with what was supposed to be chapter 5 ( I have the first eight pre-written already) to make a longer one. ^_^ Next chapter, the story moves forward even more (but the one after that moves it back a bit, but it's a necesarry setback! I swear!) so enjoy this one until then.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Short thing now, Loooooong AN in next chap...

Discalimer: NAruto and Pokemon is not mine.

Warning: OOCness ahead!

* * *

"Achoo!"

"Wow, that's the second sneeze in the past 30 seconds. Are you alright? You aren't coming up with a cold are you? You've already sneezed like, five times in the last few minutes. Could it be you're allergic to-"

"Gai! Quiet. I'm fine. They're just sneezes."

"You know what they say about sneezing. It means someone's talking about you." Gai had a creepy smile on his face and his caterpillars, ahem, eyebrows, were moving up and down. "So, who could it be?"

Kakashi sent Gai a glare. "If anyone's talking about me, it's to pronounce me dead." Kakashi said. He stopped dead in his tracks when a look of realization appeared on his visible eye. "Shit." He hissed.

"What is it?"

"I just realized. If we're here, in this world, it means that we aren't back home."

"Eh… Don't we know that already?"

"No, listen to me. From what I've gathered, the fact that not only do I have my pack on me, but you're here too, could only mean that we were on a mission together."

"Uh huh…"

"Think man! We've been gone over two weeks. It's enough to pronounce us either missing or dead."

"Oh."

"Oh? Oh? That's all you can say?"

"Why are you freaking out? It's not in your character to be this stressed out. What happened to your hip and cool demeanor? Besides, our most honorable Hokage, Tsunade-sama, would send a team out after us, right?"

"Yeah, but they wouldn't find anything, now would they?"

"…" Gai didn't say anything after that. They kept traveling in silence but were stopped when another Pokémon blocked their path. Gai got excited. This would be his second Pokémon for sure! "Turtwig! Let's show this Pokémon how far along you are in your springtime of youth!"

"Twig." Turtwig looked pumped.

Kakashi stood back and watched his rival battle. He pulled out his Pokédex and checked the Pokémon out.

"_**Kricketot. The cricket Pokémon. Its legs are short. Whenever it stumbles, its stiff antennae clack with a xylophone-like sound."**_

"Gai. That's a Kricketot. Just thought you'd like to know."

"Yosh! Turtwig! Let's show this youthful Kricketot what it means to be part of our team! Use tackle!"

"Turtwig!" Turtwig charged straight at the Kricketot and tackled it. Hard. The wild Kricketot rolled back a few feet.

"Wow! Kakashi, did you see that?"

"Yup. By the looks of it, I say that was a critical hit." Kakashi said in a slightly bored tone.

The Kricketot got back up, but it looked a little worse for wear.

"It's now or never. Go, Pokéball!" Gai shouted. Once again they waited in anticipation as the ball wiggled back and forth.

"Oh, for Kami's sake." Kakashi mumbled.

That did it. The ball stopped and dinged. Gai had caught his own Pokémon.

"YOSH!" Gai exclaimed, running over to pick the Pokéball up. "My team is now more youthful than yours, Kakashi!"

"Whatever you say, Gai."

"And it was all thanks to my youthful Turtwig! You deserve a rest, my friend."

"Tur." Turtwig said was sent back into the ball.

"Let's get going. If we keep walking we'll make it to Jubilife by sunset. Is it just me, or is this path really annoying?"

"It is no such thing! These paths are crawling in beautiful creatures at the peak of their springtime of youth and- Hey! Don't leave me!"

"Hm? Sorry. Did you say something? No matter. The point is this path is taking too long. Let's take the trees."

"Yosh! I will race you there!" Gai shouted and he took the trees heading towards Jubilife.

Kakashi sighed and followed after Gai.

* * *

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center. Would you like to heal your Pokémon?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yes, please." Kakashi answered.

"Are you registered to compete in the Sinnoh League?"

Kakashi knew about the league. Lucas had explained it to him a while back.

"No, not yet."

"Would you like to register?"

"Yes, I-"

"Ha! I have arrived before-"

"Hey, Gai." Kakashi said. "What took you so long?"

"Bit- I – How-!?" Gai sighed in defeat. "You win again."

Kakashi turned back to Nurse Joy. "Sorry about my friend. As I was saying, I would like to register."

"Very well. Please hand me your Pokédex, I'll have to take your picture, so stand still."

Kakashi did as was told and Nurse Joy took his picture. She typed some things on her computer and handed Kakashi his Pokédex back. "There. All done. You are now officially registered."

"Thanks."

"Feel free to drop by anytime."

Kakashi turned and was on his way out when Gai called out: "Eternal Rival! Where are you going?"

"Out. I'll be back later." And he left.

* * *

Kakashi found himself sitting in the biggest tree he could find on route 202. There was something bothering him and he needed to think. He bit his thumb through the mask and did some seals. He slammed his palm on the large branch in front of him and Pakkun appeared.

"Kakashi! You're okay!" Pakkun looked relieved.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"What do you mean 'why'? You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Wait a minute. This doesn't look or smell like Konoha. Where are we?"

"Pakkun, don't change the subject. Remember what?"

"Nothing. So, why'd you call me?"

Kakashi sighed. It was obvious he wasn't going to get any answers from the pug. He told Pakkun everything from the beginning to that moment. The story must have taken longer than he thought because it was already dark by the time he finished. "It's been bothering me this whole time."

"What has?"

"That day at the lake. The strange chakra. The pain and me passing out. Can it all be connected somehow?"

"You're right. That is weird."

"I don't know why… But, I have this… This feeling. That something bad is going to happen."

"So who else is here?" Pakkun asked.

"So far, it's just Gai and I. There might be more, that's one of the reason's we're travelling this region."

"Shouldn't you be getting back then? I mean, it's been a while. Maybe Gai's worried?"

"I doubt it, but you have a point. I should get back."

"So, I'll be leaving no-"

"No." Kakashi cut the pug off. "Just stay for a while. Besides, you haven't met the rest of the team."

"Team?"

Kakashi took out the two Pokéballs containing his Chimchar and Starly. He let them both out.

"Pakkun, this is Chimchar and this is Starly." He said, motioning to each Pokémon as he introduced them. "Chimchar, Starly, this is Pakkun."

"They understand you?" Pakkun asked curiously, receiving nothing but a shrug from his master. Pakkun sniffed the two Pokémon curiously. "Hm. Do they talk?" He asked.

"I don't think so. I believe all they can say are their names. It's quite odd, actually."

"Chimchar!"

"Starly!"

"I see what you mean…"

"Well, I guess we best head back to the Pokémon Center. Chimchar, Starly, back in the balls." Kakashi recalled both Pokémon then hopped off the branch, Pakkun close behind. They made their way back to Jubilife City and the center with no problems whatsoever.

* * *

Pokémon Centers were very good places, Kakashi decided. Hot food, warm showers and warm beds. He settled into the bed, Pakkun at his feet keeping watch, and let sleep take over.

_They were on a mission. They were to deliver a very important scroll, Tsunade said. On the way there, they ran into a group of rogue nin sent after the scroll. They couldn't have been higher rank then Chuunin, they went down too easily. They were on guard the rest of the trip there, but when they arrived and handed the scroll over, they decided it was safe. It was a horrible mistake. Their guards weren't completely down, but they were faced with an ambush about 30 miles shy of Fire Country borders. The attack was useless, they no longer had the scroll, but they seemed to be the back-up for the group they took out earlier on in the mission. It was no longer about the scroll. It was about revenge for their fallen comrades. These were definitely not Chuunin; they soon learned that the hard way. They were highly outnumbered. Kakashi guessed they could probably take out about half of the group before exhaustion set in. They had no choice. They were surrounded. They had to fight._

_It was a bloody battle. Throats were slit, chests were pierced and skulls were cracked. At first, all that could be seen of the leaf duo were flashes of orange, green, black, and silver as the enemy's bodies dropped one after the other._

_There were only a handful left. These were obviously the most skilled of the group, if they made it this far. Two of them wielded Katana. Not a good sign. Kakashi and Gai were worn out. Their chakra reserves were dangerously low, and they've each lost their fair amount of blood and exhaustion was setting in._

_One of the katana-wielding nin charged towards Kakashi, but he managed to block the blow in time with his kunai. Unfortunately, the other one was coming in from behind. He couldn't block the blow to his back and Gai was too busy taking care of his own nin. Kakashi was screwed._

_He managed to push the nin in front of him far enough for him to side-step the blade that would have paralyzed, if not killed, him, but he wasn't able to dodge the blade completely. Using the momentum of his dodge, he managed to stick his kunai in the enemy's neck, but wasn't able to avoid the nasty gash in his side that was left after the sword cut him. He managed to get rid of the other nin in his moment of surprise, but when his vision started blurring, he came to the horrible realization that the blade was poisoned. He fell on his knees, clutching his stomach, trying not to throw up inside his mask. He hoped Pakkun could make it back to the village before he died…_

_He was faintly aware of the faraway call of his name as everything went black._

Kakashi shot up in his bed, drenched in a cold sweat, unaware that he had been yelling as he did so. Shaking his head and scolding himself for his loud awakening, he panted for air as he waited for his heart to stop racing.

"Kakashi!" Pakkun called, jumping at the pale man's screams "What's wrong?"

"I-" Kakashi panted. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I remember."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I have to make this short. My computer is bloody retarded and it's not working. This right now is a miracle. I don't know when I'll be back, but I haven't abandoned anything. Omg, I think I'm gonna cry...

Warning: Possible OOCnss

Discalimer: NOT MINE!!!!!

"Speaking"

'_Thinking'_

'_**Kyuubi think-speaking'**_

"_**Electronics… Well, speaking."**_

"What did you say?"

"I remember." Kakashi said. "I remember everything. The mission, the scroll, the battle, the-" He stopped and his hands automatically went to his side He lifted his shirt, but there was nothing there. No wound or scar or any evidence of the sword connecting with him at all…

"Kakashi?" Gai asked. "What's wrong?"

Kakashi told Pakkun and Gai everything from the mission to the battle and stopped when there was nothing else to tell. After the two digested all the information, Gai replied with an ingenious:

"I see." He took a moment more to think. "That might explain why you collapsed at the lake. But the question remains, _how _did we get here?"

"That I still don't know. I mean, besides the vortexes, I don't remember anything unusual before I passed out. I doubt it was a jutsu, but we can't completely rule it out." Kakashi sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. "We might as well try to go back to sleep. I have a sinking feeling we might really need it."

"Oh, Kami." Iruka gasped quietly when they came upon the scene of blood, carnage and corpses that reeked of death. Why no one had cleaned the scene yet after two weeks, was beyond him, but there it was.

"Iruka-sensei…" He heard Naruto ask. "What is this?"

"This," Shizune said, "Is where we last heard from Kakashi-san and Gai-san before they disappeared."

'_**Kit. There's a strange energy here. You should have the Hyuuga boy check it out.'**_

'_Kyuubi? Wha-'_

'_**Do it.'**_

"Neji," Naruto called. "Use your Byakugan to check out the area."

"Why?"

"Just do it. There's something weird about this place."

"Fine. Byakugan!" Neji looked around and his eyes widened. "What is this?"

"What's wrong Neji?" Lee asked.

"There's a kind of strange energy looming around this place. It's like nothing I've ever seen before."

"Naruto, how did you know?" Iruka asked, but he never got an answer because the blonde was off observing something in the distance. Iruka walked over. "Naruto?"

"Iruka-sensei. Look." Naruto said, pointing to something catching the light on the ground. Iruka knelt down to closer examine the newly discovered katana. It had some blood on it, but what had Iruka worried was his other discovery.

"It's poisoned." He whispered. He called Shizune over and they both looked at the blade. "This blade we found has some blood on it still, not to mention, it's poisoned as well. Whoever this was swung at, was obviously hit, but the question is, whose blood is it?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, I doubt Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei walked away from this unharmed." Neji said. "But if they aren't here and they never made it back. I doubt they just disappeared. Not to mention we still have to figure out what this strange floating energy is."

'_**It's a vortex. They were sucked through it.'**_

"Naruto?" Iruka whispered. "What's wrong?"

Naruto led Iruka a little away from the group to avoid the other ninja from hearing them. "It's Kyuubi." He said. "He says they were sucked through a vortex."

"How would he know?" Iruka asked. No one would blame the teacher for being a bit skeptical.

'_**It's happened before.'**_

"Kyuubi said it's happened before."

"When?"

Once again, Iruka's question went unanswered because everything went black.

"Iruka-sensei, we've come up with a pla-" Shizune started as she turned around, but when she did, Iruka and Naruto were nowhere to be seen. "Oh no…" She whispered grimly.

"Shizune-san, wha-" Lee asked, but was cut off.

"Lee! Shizune-san!" Neji called. "The energy. Just now, it glowed for a second before it stopped. I can't see it anymore. Where are Naruto and Iruka-sensei?"

"Gone." Shizune said. "They've vanished."

"This is bad."

"Okay, team, listen up." Shizune said. "We have to get back to Konoha now and tell Tsunade-sama about the energy and the disappearances. Let's move out."

"Hai!" Lee and Neji said, and it was back in the trees on the way to Konoha.

"We should head out." Gai said the next morning.

"I agree, but I want to head back to Professor Rowan's lab for a bit. There's something that's been bothering me for a while."

"Ah, sure. Whatever you say." Gai said. It was really a miracle he was so quiet. After Kakashi had woken up screaming last night, Gai's been a bit worried about his rival. There seem to be many weird things happening to him since they arrived in this world.

Kakashi, Gai and Pakkun were walking out of the Pokémon Center when they heard shouting.

"Hey! You two over there! Yeah, you! Come over here! Better yet, I'll go over there!" As the crazy man walked over to them, Kakashi and Pakkun looked at each other, sending unspoken messages. "You're trainers right? Of course you are! But no trainer is actually a trainer without this!" He pulled out a watch from his pocket. "Ta da! This is the latest in Pokétch technology, and you should consider yourselves extremely lucky right now!"

"Why?" Kakashi asked.

"Because you two'll be the first ones to get one, that's why!"

"This is great! Is this not the most youthful of events since we got here, Eternal Rival? I'm honored to be given such a gift!"

''_Oh Kami! There are two of them!' _Kakashi thought in horror. He looked at Pakkun again, trading looks of horror.

"I like your style, man! Here, take it! Come back and see me later for more high-tech apps for your Pokétch! Take this one for your friend too!" The hyperactive gave Gai a Pokétch for him and one for Kakashi as well and he ran off to bother other passer-bys.

"Was he not the most youthful of characters, Eternal Rival?"

"Yeah, he was just oozing 'youthfulness'. Let me see that watch."

"Oh! Here you go."

Kakashi put on the watch and examined it. It was blue and white with a green screen, currently displaying the time. Next to the screen were two red buttons, one atop the other. He pressed one. The display on the screen changed from the time to a calculator. He pressed the bottom button again and found that the display now showed a type of counter that went up with every step they took. _'A pedometer? Why would I need that?' _The next time he pushed the button; there was a picture of Chimchar and Starly on the top third of the screen, each with dark bars under them. He would find out what that was later… He found it weird the watch already knew which Pokémon he had with him. Oh well, he just added it to the list of 'Things I shouldn't question while I'm here'. The first on the list being where his torn up and bloody uniform went… He went back to the watch. Once again, he pressed the button. It returned to the time. He assumed the little digital figure in the corner was a Pokémon.

The duo chose to walk through Route 202, instead of taking the trees. (Kakashi could multitask, but he didn't want to risk falling from a tree and embarrassing himself) A look towards Gai confirmed that he too was fiddling with the Pokétch as well. It looked ridiculous on him. It didn't match anything he was wearing. Oh well, at least Kakashi's didn't stick out as much.

As they were walking, a nearby bush rustled. They stopped in their tracks and looked around. After they saw that everything was clear, they kept going. Pakkun was surprisingly quiet. Route 202 was short, so it wouldn't take long to reach Professor Rowan's lab.

Kakashi couldn't help shake the feeling that he was being followed. Ninja paranoia in a world filled with different creatures at every turn weren't really a good match.

Another bush rustled and Kakashi couldn't take it anymore. He jumped behind the bush and a surprised meow-like sound was heard. Kakashi came out from behind the bush holding a blue, yellow and black Pokémon.

"This little guy's been following us the whole time." Kakashi said. "Kinda cute, actually." He took out his Pokédex and it spoke.

"_**Shinx. The flash Pokémon. The extension and contraction of its muscles generates electricity. It glows when in trouble."**_

"So, you're a Shinx?" He said to the four legged ball of electric cuteness.

"Shinx." It said happily.

Kakashi put the Shinx down and joined the small group on the path. The Shinx was still following.

"Hn. I think it likes you." Pakkun huffed.

"You think?" Kakashi asked. The Shinx made its way to his side and had a happy look to its eyes.

They soon reached Sandgem Town and reached Rowan's lab.

"Ah, Gai, Kakashi. This is a surprise." Rowan greeted. "And who's this?" He asked, pointing to the Shinx and Pakkun.

"Ah, this is Pakkun, one of my summons."

"Yo." Pakkun grunted.

"He speaks?"

"Ah, yes, he does. And this Shinx here has been following us most of the way here."

"That's interesting…" Rowan said thoughtfully.

"Anyway, I came here because-"

"Professor! Professor!" Dawn burst into the lab, yelling. "The beach! Quick!" She ran out again.

"This sounds urgent. Let's go." Rowan said.

"Pakkun, you and Shinx stay here. We'll be right back. Gai, let's do." Kakashi commanded.

When they got to the beach, Lucas and Dawn were trying to shake two figures awake. The first thing Kakashi noticed was a bright orange-

"Crap." Kakashi cursed. He ran over to where Dawn and Lucas were and told them to move. "Gai! Get over there and wake Naruto up. I'll wake Iruka."

"You know these people?" Rowan asked.

"Yes. The blonde one is my student, this one is my friend, Iruka." Kakashi tried shaking Iruka awake. "Hey, Iruka. Get up." Iruka wasn't responding so he touched his index finger to the center of Iruka's forehead and pushed a little chakra into the tan man under him. Iruka's brows furrowed slightly before his eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, but he soon recognized Kakashi.

"Kakashi!" His eyes widened and arms wrapped around Kakashi's neck. He quickly unwrapped his arms and slapped Kakashi across the face.

"What the hell!?"

"Do you know how worried I – uh- we all were!? Everyone thought you two went and got yourselves killed! Where the hell were you!?"

_*Meanwhile…_

"Aah!" Naruto awoke to Gai's worried face looming over him.

"Why must everybody scream when I wake them up?" Gai asked. (AN: Sorry, I couldn't resist that part.)

"Where are we?"

"We'll explain later, youthful student of my Eternal Rival!"

They turned just in time to see Kakashi get slapped and hear his yell of 'What the hell!?'

"Ooh… That's gotta hurt." Naruto said with a wince.

_*Back to Kakashi…_

"Look, we'll explain everything later. Let's get back to the lab." Kakashi said.

"Lab?"

"Just follow me." Kakashi said, rubbing his sore cheek. "Gai! Naruto! Let's go!"

After Kakashi told the story of his dream for the second time in 12 hours, the rest of the group who hadn't heard it before (he censored it for Dawn and Lucas, they were only ten after all) were staring wide-eyed at him.

"How are you not dead?" Iruka asked.

"That's what I came here to find out." Kakashi said. He turned to the Professor. "I came back to ask you some things."

"Go ahead." Rowan said.

"First of all, what condition were we in when you found us?"

"You yourselves were fine, excluding the whole unconscious thing, but your clothes, especially yours, Kakashi, were tattered and bloodied, like you were in some sort of terrible accident. Although that's clear now, but now I'm curious as to why there were no signs of injuries on your persons."

"You and me both, Professor…" Kakashi thought. He set his elbows on his knees, his fingers tented in an uncanny imitation of Tsunade. He was obviously thinking of the situation. After a slightly tense moment, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Was it in frustration or annoyance? Maybe both? "There's more I want to know, but I doubt you can give me answers. Anyway, Iruka, Naruto. How did you get here and what's going on back home?"

Iruka and Naruto told their own story, even the part about Kyuubi.

"And nobody else has gone missing?" Kakashi asked.

"Not from Konoha, no." Iruka answered.

"Naruto, you said Kyuubi told you this has happened before. When?" Kakashi asked, turning his attention to the blonde.

"I don't know. Stupid fox isn't answering when I try to ask."

"I can't tell if that's good or bad." Kakashi sighed. "Either way, Naruto, can you work on trying to reach Kyuubi while we're here? He obviously knows more about this than we do."

"No problem, Sensei!" Naruto beamed. "Ne, what are we going to do here anyway?" Naruto asked. "I mean, do we get to go on an adventure too?"

"I guess that's up to you two." Kakashi said. "Professor? What do you think?"

"It's up to them. If they want to follow you two on your travels, I can help them get started like I did with you."

"Alright! We're going on an adventure!" Naruto yelled.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: So, I am back, and let me just say, I'm glad you're all liking the story so far. My computer got infected with some virus from hell or something, so for the past two weeks (read: 18 FREAKING DAYS! =[ ) my precious has finally returned to me! (Whoa, Golem moment)^_^ And then for the past two days, I had to set everything up the way it was before and it took a while. So, let me just warn, well, maybe not _warn_, but let me inform you about some things in this chapter. The beginning will move kinda fast, and it might be a bit confusing, so if you missed something, (although, I don't think you will) feel free to tell me about it and I'll try to clear it up. Alright, next, beware of a corny joke here or there, they just _had_ to be done, in my opinion. On that note: Warning, there is a spot of very slight Sakura-bashing in this chapter… I also want to take this opportunity to apologize for the crappiness of the last chapter I posted up. That was on the night the computer went berserk and it shut down on me the first time I was putting it up, so I had to re-upload the document and post it quick before the computer shut down on me again when I tried the second time, so yeah…

In answer to a review from master of cheese graters (awesome name, btw) No, the gang will not run into Ash and his group because this isn't a crossover with the anime, but the video game. (The difference? I'm not really sure, but what I have planned out works better with the story line of the game) This isn't a happy-go-lucky "Yay! Let's vaca in a different world!" kind of story, so they will run into trouble with Team Galactic. I hope that helped. ^_^ I have a lot of twists and turns planned out for this story, so all I have to do is find a way to get to them.

What else… There's more, but I'll leave that for the end of this chapter because those of you who are actually _reading_ this, (You all get a cookie! ^_^) you probably want to strangle me by now, so I'll start the story now.

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Pokémon Platinum is not mine. I don't really own much, actually…

* * *

Naruto and Iruka decided to join the journey. Iruka chose a Piplup as his Pokémon and Naruto chose a Chimchar. Kakashi ended up keeping the Shinx. (It wouldn't leave his side anyway.) Pakkun went back to wherever it was that Kakashi's summons go, grumbling something about finally losing his mind. The four leaf-nin then began their journey. (For real this time.) Along the way, Gai caught a Bidoof. (After Naruto's bout of laughter over its teeth.) Jubilife City brought about Poketches for Iruka and Naruto as well. After a quick visit to the Trainer's school (Iruka's idea) and the Jubilife TV Station (Naruto thought it's be cool) they made their way towards Oreburg City through Route 203. Naruto attempted to catch an Abra, but kept failing as they would always teleport away before he could make a move. With the Old Rod he was given by a guy in Jubilife, he caught a Magicarp, but was disappointed when he found out it didn't really do much. He decided to name it Sakura. (AN: He didn't really, but now that I think about it…) Route 203 brought many battles for all our favorite ninja from trainers who wanted to test their skills (Kakashi and Gai took care of most of those), to wild Pokémon that seemed to keep popping up. (The two new-comers decided to take these for practice) At last they made it to the entrance of Oreburg Gate, where Iruka caught himself a Zubat. Since Gai and Iruka had the type advantages, they lead the group in. They weren't even two minutes in when a hiker stopped them and gave them HM06, Rock Smash. (It still amazed everyone but Gai that the people in this world just gave stuff away like that) They thanked him and were on their way. A while later they found themselves (finally) in Oreburg City. It wasn't as big as Jubilife but it was definitely bigger than Twinleaf and Sandgem town.

"What do we do now, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"First, we go to the Pokémon Center and heal our Pokémon. They must be pretty tired. Whoever didn't get a chance to register into the Sinnoh League yet and wants to can do that as well. We might as well make the best of this situation and try to win our first gym badges while we're here and if there's time left, we might get a chance to do a little sight seeing before we head out for the next town tomorrow."

"Wow, you've got this all planned out, haven't you?" Iruka noticed.

"Yeah, well-"

"That is my Eternal Rival! Always able plan ahead!" exclaimed Gai.

* * *

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center. Would you like to heal your Pokémon?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yes, please." Kakashi replied. This was the third identical nurse Joy he'd seen and he was a little freaked out. That was, until he saw what looked to be a family photo behind her. His eye widened slightly at the many, many Nurse Joys in the picture. _'Oh, my Kami. It's like a mass Kage Bunshin…'_

"Here you go. We hope to see you soon." Nurse Joy bowed. (AN: I've always thought it was weird when they say this in the game. It's like they want your Pokémon hurt or something.)

"Thanks." Kakashi said, putting his Pokémon back on his belt*. He was heading out of the Pokémon Center when Iruka called out to him.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I was going to train a little before the gym challenge. The wild Pokémon and trainers were okay, but I want to try something a little different. I want to see what these three can really do."

"Then let me come too. You've been here longer than I have and I haven't really gotten much of a chance to battle against another trainer." Iruka said, rubbing the scar across his nose.

"Sure. Let's go. There's a clearing a bit north of town. We can go there."

"Lead the way then." Iruka said, moving aside to let the older man lead.

They walked to route 207 and stood a good few yards apart when they reached the clearing.

"Alright, call one of your Pokémon out." Kakashi called.

"Fine." Iruka grabbed a Pokéball. "Come on out, Piplup."

"Pip!"

"Let's go Shinx."

"Shinx!"

"Okay, let's get this started." Kakashi called.

* * *

"Thank you. We hope to see you again."

"Sure." Naruto said, taking his Pokémon and looking around. "Gai-sensei!" He called.

"Yes, youthful student of my Eternal Rival?"

"Where did Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei go?"

"Probably off to train." Gai said. "But who needs them? You and I can go challenge the gym ourselves and get our badges before they do!" Gai said, executing Nice Guy pose #246. (Sunglasses to help ward off the shiny smile not included)

"Yeah!" Naruto was pumped.

"Yosh! We're off!"

* * *

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, but you see, Roark isn't in right now."

"What!? The gym leader isn't here!?" Naruto half yelled, half asked, crushed.

"Sorry, no. But if you check the mines, you might find him the-"

"Thanks!" Naruto yelled, running off, Gai behind him.

"Uh… You're welcome?" The young man weakly said, confused as to what had just happened.

Naruto and Gai made their way to the mines.

"Ano… Gai-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"The gym leader uses rock Pokémon right?"

"Yes, I believe he does."

"So, in order to beat him, we need a grass, water or fighting Pokémon, right?"

"Ground types work as well." Gai added.

"Okay. That's all I needed to know."

They entered the mine and took in the glory of it. There were huge conveyor belts sending coal outside of the mines and workers with their Pokémon working together.

"Whoa. Look at that!" Naruto said, pointing to the massive lump of coal in the center of the mine.

"Yosh! I bet the gym leader is on the other side of that!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

They walked around to the other side of the lump of coal and saw a young man with glasses dressed differently than the other workers. His helmet was a different color as well.

"Hey." He said when he noticed Naruto and Gai. "I haven't seen you around town. I'm Roark, the gym leader. What can I do for you?"

"We're here to challenge you so we can get our first badges!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Well, you see, I'm kinda busy right now, but if you come by the gym tomorrow, I'll be glad to accept your challenge." Roark explained.

"Alright!" Naruto said joyfully.

"You'll have to quiet down. There are lots of wild Pokémon in this mine and you don't want to disturb them."

"Oh. Heh heh. Sorry." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Naruto-kun, why don't you go back to the Pokémon Center and tell Iruka-sensei and my Eternal Rival about the news." Gai said in a subtle, but still excited, voice.

"Eh? What about you?"

"I'll stay here for a bit. There are some things I need to take care of."

"Oh. Okay then. See you later." Naruto said, and he left.

"Yosh! Now, I must train and prepare for my battle!"

* * *

When Naruto got back to the Pokémon Center, Kakashi and Iruka had already returned and were eating their dinner. Well, Iruka was still eating and judging by the glare the Copy-nin was receiving from the tanned man, Kakashi must have wolfed down his food, as usual.

'_Darn! Another missed chance at seeing him mask-less.' _Naruto internally cursed.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Huh? Oh! Me and Gai-sensei went to challenge the gym when you two disappeared somewhere, but he wasn't there."

"Oh?" Was all Kakashi said.

"Yeah. So anyway, some guy told us that he went to the coal mine, so we went there and we found him."

"And…" Iruka prompted.

"And then we challenged him, but he said he was busy today, so we have to wait 'till tomorrow to challenge him. Oh. And his name is Roark, by the way. He seems nice. He was kinda young too."

"Okay then. Thanks for telling us, Naruto." Iruka said.

"Um, Naruto? Where's Gai now?" Kakashi asked.

"He stayed behind. Said there was something he needed to take care of. I think he stayed to train some more."

"Hm." Was Kakashi's brilliant response.

"So… What were you two up to?" Naruto asked.

"Training." Kakashi said.

"Hm." Naruto said, imitating Kakashi's earlier brilliance. "I think I'll use our new free time to look around some more. That okay with you two?"

"Go ahead and have fun." Iruka said. "Just don't get back too late."

"Okay! See ya later!"

"He seems happy." Kakashi observed.

"Yeah, he does. I think he's having fun."

Iruka looked up from his food to look at the older man, but frowned when he saw the silver brows furrowed, deep in thought.

"Kakashi?" He tried to get the other's attention. "Kakashi!" He called while snapping his fingers. That seemed to work. "It's not nice to ignore people. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about the training earlier. I'm trying to figure out a good strategy, seeing as I'm at a disadvantage this time."

"I think that with the training you put your Pokémon through, they should be fine. Sometimes a disadvantage can work as an advantage you know." Iruka said. "Although, I don't think it was necessary for you to take a hit from each of your Pokémon."

"What? I wanted to see how hard they hit. Besides, if a tackle from a foot tall furry animal can take me down, my career is in trouble." Kakashi replied, with a shrug.

"Sure. But they're not a foot tall anymore. Anyway, now that we have a little time, we should take Naruto's example and go exploring a bit. I wanted to check out the mining museum." Iruka suggested.

"No, its okay. You go ahead. I think' I'll turn in for the night."

"Oh, um. Alright then." Iruka said, frowning as he watched the pale man leave. _'It's not even that late yet…'_

* * *

Naruto still wanted an Abra, so after a bit of asking around, he found out there was a girl willing to trade one. He decided to check it out.

"Hi. I'm Naruto. I hear you have an Abra."

"Hi. It's true. I'll trade you my Abra for a Machop." The girl said.

"A Machop? Where am I gonna get one of those?"

"You can get one on route 207. Oh, I'll be so happy if you do!"

"No problem! I'll be back tomorrow!" Naruto said while leaving the building.

"Such a strange boy." The girl giggled.

"Ooh… This is gonna be so great! I'll finally get an Abra!" Naruto said to himself. He had the perfect plan. He would go back to the Pokémon Center and go to bed like he normally would, then, after everyone fell asleep, he would sneak off to route 207 and catch a Machop. It was genius! It was during his master planning that he remembered a snippet from his earlier conversation with Gai. _'A fighting type… Maybe I'll find one of those too…'_

* * *

Gai was having fun. Roark was right when he said there were a lot of wild Pokémon in the mines. At this rate, his Pokémon would be ready for tomorrow's battle in no time!

"Okay Turtwig! Razor Leaf!"

"Twig!"

Gai watched as the wild Geodude went down. Oh, yes. They were ready.

"Good job Turtwig! Let's head back."

* * *

The trip to the museum was more insightful than Iruka thought it would be. He even met a scientist working on a way to bring fossilized Pokémon back to life. He was on his way back to the Pokémon Center when he came across Naruto, who was heading back as well.

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" Naruto greeted when he saw him. They were walking and reached the Pokémon center in almost no time at all. "So, where's Kakashi-sensei?" He asked when they were walking up the stairs.

"He went to get some rest so I decided to go check out the museum on my own." At Naruto's scrunched up face, he asked: "What?" with a small chuckle.

"A museum? They're so boring!" He exclaimed. They reached the relaxing area and sat down somewhere. "Anyway, why'd Kakashi-sensei go to bed? It's not even that late! He must be older than I thought. I should have figured, with all that grey hair. I mean, he keeps saying it's not grey, its _silver_, but now I know-"

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled, trying to get the blonde motor-mouth to just. Stop. Talking! "Be more respectful when you speak about your sensei. Beside, he's only a couple years older than I am."

"You're not that young yourself, Iruka-sensei." Naruto teased.

"I'm 23!"

"Ewww, you're like older than me by over a decade!" Naruto exclaimed in mock horror.

This little teasing routine was quite common between the two and soon they were laughing together.

"Ah! This is more like it! To what do we owe this youthful bout of laughter!?" Gai asked/yelled, seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"Gai-sensei. Where have you been?" Iruka asked, calming down.

"I have been training my youthful Turtwig in the mines. Now, I shall shower and rest for my battle tomorrow morning! I bid you two good night!"

"Good night, Gai-sensei."

"Night."

* * *

'_Wow. The city looks different in the middle of the night.' _Naruto thought as he made his way to Route 207. He waited until he was sure everyone else was asleep before he headed out.

He reached a large patch of grass and decided to begin his hunt. Sure enough, after a little while, a Pokémon appeared.

"Yes! Okay, let's see what you are."

"_**Machop. The superpower Pokémon. Though small in stature, it is powerful enough to easily heft and throw a number of Geodude at once."**_

"Wow. That was fast. Okay, let's go Chimchar! Use Ember!"

It took a few turns, but eventually the Machop was caught.

"This Machop is a fighting type. I need a fighting type to beat Roark… But I want an Abra too. I can catch another Machop and trade it… Yeah! That's what I'll do."

So, Naruto was once again on the search for a Machop and while he was at it, he decided to train the one he just caught.

* * *

Kakashi couldn't sleep. He didn't know why. He was in bed, but every time he closed his eyes, they would open again on their own. He didn't know how long he was lying there, but it was long enough for everyone to get back, have fun, get ready for bed fall asleep and long enough for Naruto to 'sneak out' a while ago and do who knows what. He was probably training or something.

With a frustrated growl he sat up in bed and ran his hands through his hair. He wanted to pull at it. Maybe it's finally happed. He's lost his mind. No. He shouldn't think like that. At least, not now. He got out of bed. Dressed in only his sleeveless shirt (with mask attached) and a pair of sweatpants, he decided to go sit on the roof. Maybe some fresh air will help him clear his mind and calm down.

* * *

Naruto was happy. On his search for another Machop, he was able to train the first Machop he caught, along with his other Pokémon. Now with his Macho's fighting moves, he was sure to beat the gym! He was on his way back to the Pokémon Center when something on the roof caught his eye.

'_Hey. Is that Kakashi-sensei?'_

Naruto decided to check it out. Putting his ninja skills to the test, he scaled the side of the center and landed on the roof quietly.

Kakashi was sitting against the raised ledge of the building, absently staring up at the moon, but he wasn't so out of it because he was able to sense Naruto's chakra. He closed his eyes, a small smile under the mask.

"Come on out Naruto. I know you're there." He said.

"Bu- How? Aww…" Naruto sighed in disappointment at being discovered so soon.

"Naruto, remember? I'm a jounin. You're a genin. I would have died a long time ago if I couldn't sense another ninja. Although, your stealth _has_ improved since I first met you."

"Right…" Naruto said, but inside, he was beaming at the compliment. "So what are you doing up here this late anyway?"

"Well, this old-timer just needed to think a bit." Kakashi said, pointedly looking at Naruto at the 'old timer' part.

"Oh, um… You heard that, huh?"

"Mmhm. Now, why aren't you asleep?"

"Oh! Well, you see…"

"If you lie to me I'll see right through it." Kakashi smirked.

"Training."

"There you go." Kakashi eye-smiled. "Now go inside and rest up."

"What about you?" Naruto asked.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Okay then Kakashi-sensei. Night."

Naruto went inside and Kakashi looked up at the moon again. _'Where _does _he get all that energy from?'_ He wondered.

* * *

The next morning, the group woke up. Gai was the first one up, as usual, spouting the usual youth this and springtime or whatever. That led to Iruka and Naruto waking up as well. Kakashi was still asleep. Was it the late night thinking? No. He was smart enough to wear ear plugs when he was finally able to fall asleep. Gai decided to go for his morning jog, Naruto went hunting for food and Iruka was left with Kakashi wake-up duty.

Iruka wondered how he would do this. Shaking a sleepy nin awake may cause loss of life, and Iruka quite liked living, so that wasn't an option. Gai's yelling didn't wake him up, (Iruka didn't notice the earplugs) so he figured his wouldn't either. Even with the sensei voice.

"Got it!" Iruka whispered. He went through his pouch and pulled out a flashlight. (Do they carry flashlights? Oh well, pretend they do.) "Heh heh. Perfect."

He turned it on and shined in Kakashi's face, moving it around a little, but focusing on the eyes. As expected, the added light disturbed Kakashi's sleep and he groaned, trying to make the light go away with his will. When he figured it wasn't going away, he opened sleepy eyes a crack, glaring at the light but he saw a flashlight, and the holder of said light.

"Ruka?" He asked sleepily. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and took the earplugs out. At Iruka's quizzical stare, he chuckled softly. "Thought these would help against the wake up call." Taking a look around the room, he said: "I guess I was right."

"Awake now?" Iruka asked. The flashlight was long turned off and put away by now.

"Yup. Now I need food." Kakashi answered cheekily. He didn't know what it was about Iruka, but the younger man had a way to make him feel comfortable and free to show the not-so-serious side, instead of the bored-looking side he usually shows people around him.

"Naruto's on it." Iruka replied.

Kakashi groaned. "Knowing him, he'll somehow find some ramen somewhere. That stuff isn't as easy to chug down you know. It burns the throat a bit."

"Well, maybe you should pace yourself." Iruka lectured teasingly. "Anyway, we might as well go check it out."

"What? No good morning kiss?" Kakashi teased.

"Pervert." Iruka mock-glared and left the room, leaving a grinning Kakashi behind.

* * *

ANII: Hello again. You can't get rid of me that easily. *evil laughter* Okay, but wow, this must be the longest chapter I've ever written. (About nine and a half pages on MS Word, not including the first AN and this one) but I'm pretty happy on how it turned out. I thought I'd end on a happy note. As I've been typing this chapter up, I couldn't help but ignore the nagging voice in my head telling me that Kakashi is being too OOC in this story, and I'm trying to fix it! I swear! I really want your feedback on this. No joke. Is he being too OOC or should I just tweak him a little and everything's good?

Just a note: I'll be taking some aspects of the anime along with the game. The story line will be game-based (and I'll throw things in there from the mind of the crazed, me!) but the battle scenes will be written, hopefully, like they were going on in real life instead of the turn-by-turn way the game does it. Also, imagine the Pokémon centers more like the ones in the show or something, not the weird orange-roofed buildings they are in the game. Other things will be more like that, but I think you'll be able to figure it out for yourselves.

On a slightly related note, another thing I want you guys to help me with. I want your opinions on who should do what. Obviously, Kakashi will be doing the whole Sinnoh League, gym badge collecting thing and so are Naruto and Gai (or should he switch to contests? I could picture him doing those, actually, scary) but I'm not totally 100% completely sure what to do with Iruka. As you might have noticed, I didn't really specify whether he registered or not (or at least, I don't think I did) so, should he be registered in the Sinnoh league as well or will he take a Brock-like approach and be the "Pokémon Breeder" type person of the group? Personally, I think he should do that, but it'll help if I get feedback on the idea. Those who help me out get a brownie!

Sorry about the unusually long ANs, but this last one was strictly story-related. (Mostly) Next chapter, the gym battles begin! So until then, sorry for the long wait!


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Um… Yeah, so it's been almost two years… This was not expected… Don't kill me please! .

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Naruto, Gai, Iruka and/or Kakashi. (But I do own a lot of Kakashi merchandise! ^\\)

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_**Pokédex/electronic things talking"**_

* * *

After breakfast, it was time to head for the gym. When they got there, Roark was waiting, ready to go.

"Just to let you guys know, I can only take on two of you this morning. The other two can challenge me later in the afternoon. My Pokémon have to rest, you know. On that note, who's first?"

"I will be your first challenger! I want to see what your Pokémon can do at their peak of youthfulness!" Gai exclaimed.

"Heh. You've got spirit. I like that. Okay then, let's go." Roark smiled and they got into position on the field. It was your basic arena, kind of brownish with a rock sticking up here and there. "Show them how we do it, Geodude!"

"Turtwig, let's show them how youthful you are!"

"Yosh! Just like in the mines, use razor leaf!" Gai called.

"Geodude! Stealth Rock!"

Turtwig's Razor Leaf hit Geodude, sending it backwards unable to go on. Meanwhile, everyone watching the match was wondering what effect Roark's attack would have. Seeing nothing happen, they were sort of confused.

"Taking Geodude out in one hit was just beginner's luck. This next one will be harder to beat. Onix, go!"

"_**Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. It burrows through the ground at a speed of 50 miles per hour while feeding on large boulders." **_

"I guess they're not all so tiny after all." Kakashi mumbled, looking up at the 28 foot tall Pokémon.

"Don't let its size intimidate you, Turtwig! Aim a Razor Leaf for its head!"

"Onix, Screech!"

Now let me take this moment to remind you that screeching is not pleasant; even more so if you're a trained ninja with heightened senses. This goes triply for ninja whose senses are near canine level, so you can only imagine how unpleasant that Onix's Screech was for Kakashi, Iruka, and Gai. Unfortunately, our ninja friends weren't the only ones affected by the attack. Turtwig's concentration was broken and his Razor Leaf missed.

"Do not fret, youthful Turtwig! Another Razor Leaf! This time it will not fail!"

"Onix, Rock Throw!"

In an attempt to avoid the rocks, Turtwig's attack didn't exactly hit its mark, but it was able to cause some damage. However, the poor little turtle was hit by a stray rock from the attack and rolled back a few feet. When he got up, he was swaying a little bit before he shook it off.

"Turtwig's type makes him resistant to Rock Throw, so why was he affected by it?" Iruka asked.

"It might have something to do with that Screech. It must have lowered its defense enough for it to do more damage than it would have." Kakashi replied.

"Heh. Your Turtwig put up a good fight so far but it won't last much longer." Roark taunted.

"Don't count us out yet! Turtwig, climb up to Onix's head!" Gai commanded.

'_What is he planning_?' Everyone asked themselves.

Turtwig hopped onto Onix's tail and made its way up to the giant rock snake's head, Onix trying to shake it off the whole time.

"Onix! Shake it off, quick!"

"Oh no you don't! Turtwig, hold on and use Absorb!"

As Turtwig absorbed energy from Onix, it thrashed harder while Turtwig was feeling stronger. After a few more seconds of struggling, it went down and Turtwig hopped off, but Onix wasn't beat yet.

"Onix, get up!" Roark pleaded.

"Quick, while it's down, Razor Leaf!"

It happened in a matter of seconds. Onix tried to get up but it wasn't fast enough to avoid Turtwig's attack and it went down, this time for good.

"Ha ha! This is why you do not underestimate The Power of Youth!"

"Heh. It's not over yet. Think you can take down this next Pokémon like you did earlier?"

"That sounds like a challenge! Turtwig, are you ready?"

"Cranidos, let's end this!"

"_**Cranidos, the Head Butt Pokémon. A lifelong jungle dweller from 100 million years ago; It would snap obstructing trees with head butts."**_

"Cranidos, Leer!"

"Turtwig, try Razor Leaf!"

"I think Gai's Turtwig might be in trouble," Kakashi commented. "With this Leer, Turtwig's defense just got lower. Add that to the previous Screech's effect… I don't think it'll be able to take a powerful hit from Roark's Cranidos. Not to mention that last round was a little tough. I wouldn't be surprised if Turtwig's tired right now."

"So what's gonna happen to Bushy Brow Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I guess we just have to watch and find out." Iruka said.

Cranidos leered at Turtwig, the latter looking a little shaken up, but he shook it off and used Razor Leaf. Cranidos took the hit but it didn't go down.

"Cranidos, finish it with Headbutt!"

"Turtwig, Withdraw!"

As Turtwig tried to raise its defense a little, Cranidos came at it fast and head butted it hard. Poor Turtwig's lowered defense and energy level was no match and it fainted.

"You fought well, now rest," Gai said as he recalled Turtwig. "It's not over yet, young leader, I have another trick up my sleeve and its name is Bibarel!" With a flourish, Gai sent out his next Pokémon. No one could have stopped what happened next…

It was a chain reaction. When Bibarel came out, it was suddenly hit by rocks that came from the ground underneath it. It was the effect of Geodude's Stealth Rock. The surprised sound Bibarel made along with its weird looks was too much for Naruto to handle and he burst out in hysterical laughter causing everyone around him to 'sweatdrop' and making Bibarel slouch a little in sadness, but Naruto wasn't just laughing at Bibarel's goofy appearance, though it was mostly the reason why, but at the memories it brought of the time Team 7 tried to find out what was under their sensei's mask.

"Naruto, will you stop that?" Kakashi hissed.

This only resulted in more laughter when Naruto looked at the older male. Thankfully, they were able to get him under control because he was really starting to get annoying.

With Naruto under control, the battle resumed.

"Bibarel, Growl!"

"Cranidos, Headbutt!"

Bibarel took his anger from being laughed at and growled like he never growled before, startling Cranidos and making him stop in his tracks for a second before continuing with his attack. The Headbutt hit, but it didn't do as much damage as it should have.

"Cranidos! Leer and then another Headbutt!"

"It won't make a difference! Bibarel, Defense Curl and then Rollout!"

"Eh? Why would Bushy Brow Sensei use a rock move against a rock Pokémon?" Naruto asked.

"Rollout is a move that lasts five turns or until it misses. It gets stronger every time it hits, and when it's used right after Defense Curl, its power doubles." Kakashi informed.

"So Gai-san really has a strategy planned out, doesn't he?" Iruka said.

"Yeah, I'm actually a little surprised myself." Kakashi said.

Meanwhile, Bibarel was on a roll and Cranidos looked about ready to pass out. One last hit and he would be done. As Bibarel took off on his last roll, Cranidos dodged and Bibarel missed, ending its attack.

"Cranidos, we can't give up! One more Headbutt!"

"Bibarel! End it with a Water Gun!"

Cranidos was charging at Bibarel with incredible speed. Unfortunately, it couldn't stop to dodge the powerful spray of water headed towards it and Cranidos fainted.

"Yosh! That was the most youthful example of youthfulness I've ever witnessed!" Gai cheered.

"No! My buffed up Pokémon!" Roark wailed.

"Yatta! He won!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That was intense." Iruka commented.

"I knew he would win." Kakashi drawled.

"Well Gai, you beat me so I'm proud to give you this, the Orebhurg Gym's Coal Badge. That'll let use Rock Smash outside of battle. I'll also give you this, TM76. That's Stealth Rock. You never know, it might come in handy." Roark clapped Gai on the back as a form of congratulations. "Well, you took a lot out of my Pokémon than I expected. They're gonna need some time to recover before the next battle. Can you guys come back in an hour or so? I should be ready by then."

"No problem! We'll be back in an hour, and then it's gonna be my turn to kick your butt, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I'll be looking forward to it. See ya later!"

* * *

"So Naruto, do you have a plan?" Iruka asked.

"Yeah! Bushy Brow Sensei isn't the only one with tricks up his sleeves!"

"Ah, the Springtime of Youth, eternally in bloom. I cannot wait for your battle, young student of my Eternal Rival."

The three Konoha nin were back at the Pokémon Center waiting for the hour to be up. Naruto, claiming the excitement of Gai's battle made him hungry, was eating a few onigiri when he asked, "Ne, Iruka-sensei, where did Kakashi-sensei go?"

"He went for some 'last minute training'. I don't know why, judging from last night's training he's more than ready for this battle."

"Knowing my Eternal Rival, he is most likely making some last minute changes to his strategy."

"Maa, it seems I've become too predictable. I'll have to change that." Kakashi said as he walked into the room, hands in his pockets. "The hour's almost up, you ready Naruto?"

"You bet!" Naruto said, stuffing the last rice ball in his mouth. "_Les go_!" (Food speak for "Let's go!")

* * *

At the gym, Naruto eagerly took his place on the battle are while the other three made their way to the viewing area.

"So how do you think your young student will do, Kakashi?" Gai asked.

"If I've learned anything in my time with Team 7, it's that Naruto doesn't give up. He always finds a way and he usually ends up winning." Kakashi answered.

"Yeah, Naruto's determined to win, no matter what so this is going to be a fun battle to watch." Iruka added.

Back on the Battle area, Naruto was trying to figure out which Pokémon to send out first when Roark said: "You know, you kind of remind me of somebody… Ah, whatever, let's get this battle started! Onix, go!"

'_He's starting with that thing!' _Naruto thought. "Heh. Take that Onix down, Monferno!"

"It evolved? When did that happen?" Iruka asked.

"Last night. Most likely when he 'snuck out' to train." Kakashi said.

"Onix, Stealth Rock!"

"Monferno, Taunt!"

Back in the stands, the three ninja breathed sighs of relief.

"As long as Naruto can take Onix down in two to four moves," Iruka started.

"We'll be saved from that infernal Screech." Kakashi finished.

'_Naruto, we believe in you!' _They all thought together.

Meanwhile, Onix fell for the taunt and it was very angry.

"Onix, Rock Throw!"

"Monferno, dodge and use Mach Punch!"

In Onix's angry rage, it threw rocks with a fury, but every good ninja knows that anger clouds your judgment and your attacks aren't as efficient. When Onix's barrage of rocks was finished (Monferno managed to dodge them all) Monferno punched Onix around its middle. It was super effective, but not enough to take it down completely.

"Onix, another Rock Throw!"

"Monferno, one last Mach Punch!"

Similar to the last turn, Monferno dodged the rocks being thrown at it and punched Onix again, this time in the head, sending it crashing down to the hard dirt, out like a light.

"Well, you guys are something else. It's your turn, Geodude!"

"Come on Monferno, another Mach Punch!"

"Geodude, Rock Throw!"

By now, it was second nature for Monferno to dodge the rocks so it was no surprise when he did and was able to punch Geodude's lights out.

"You're good, kid but let's see you make quick work of Cranidos!"

"I was waiting for this one! Monferno, rest up." Naruto said, taking out Monferno's Pokéball.

"Cranidos! Pursuit!"

"Huh?" Naruto was confused. What was the point of attacking a retreating Pokémon? When Cranidos came and attacked Monferno, knocking it out, Naruto got mad. "Hey! What the hell kind of move is that?" He yelled.

"Pursuit is a move that does double damage to a retreating Pokémon. Now you can't use Monferno again." Roark explained.

"Whatever. Machop! Avenge Monferno and kick Cranidos' butt!"

"Well, Naruto wasn't kidding when he said he had a few tricks up his sleeve." Iruka commented. "I've never seen that Pokémon before."

"Yeah, that kid is full of surprises." Kakashi added.

Stealth Rock's effects kicked in, but Machop wasn't very hurt by it. With a mumbled "Oops, forgot about that…" from Naruto, the battle resumed.

"Cranidos! Headbutt!"

"Machop, Low Kick!"

As Cranidos charged towards Machop, Machop lowered itself to the ground and stuck its foot out in a sweeping motion; tripping Cranidos and making it skid a few feet after it fell.

"Cranidos! Get back up and use another Headbutt!"

"Machop, use Focus Energy!"

Without an attack to counter it, Cranidos was (finally) able to attack Machop with no interruptions. Machop took the hit but it didn't take a lot of damage. Machop closed his eyes and he was surrounded by a ring of energy. The energy swirled around him for a while before it dissolved and Machop was left felling stronger with a powerful aura surrounding him.

"Cranidos!"

"Machop!"

"_Leer!" _Both trainers yelled at the same time. It was a leer-off between the two Pokémon.

"Cranidos, Headbutt!"

Karate Chop it, Machop!"

The two Pokémon took off on a run towards each other, Cranidos running faster than Machop. It looked like they would collide head-on when Machop jumped and brought the side of its hand down on Cranidos' skull. Critical hit. Everyone looked on, waiting to see if Cranidos would get back up. He didn't.

"Yes! I beat my first gym!" Naruto cheered.

Roark sighed. These guys really were different from other challengers he's had. "How embarrassing. I went and lost to a trainer without any badges. Oh well, take this, the Coal Badge; you've earned it, kid."

"Alright! This is so awesome!"

"Take this too. It's Stealth Rock. You have a sneaky battling style, it should come in handy."

"Of course! I'm a ninja, sneaky's my job!" Naruto exclaimed, a big grin on his face.

"If you guys give me a few minutes, I'll be able to take on the next challenger. I just have to heal my Pokémon real quick." Roark said.

"It's no problem, really. You know, Naruto made it look so easy I think I'll go next." Iruka said.

"Yeah! Iruka-sensei's totally gonna kick butt!" Naruto said, pumping his fist in the air.

"So, Iruka, do you have a plan?" Kakashi asked.

"You bet. Naruto's not the only one who can be sneaky, you know." He grinned.

'_Oh I know…' _Kakashi thought. He had been a long-time victim of Iruka's pranks since the whole chuunin exams thing. How the younger man managed to sneak in his home time and time again in the beginning was beyond him, but eventually he gave up trying to stop him.

As Naruto and Iruka were switching places, Roark came back from wherever it was he went to.

"Alright, Iruka right?" With a nod from Iruka, Roark continued. "Let's get this party started. Geodude, let's go!"

"Zubat, it's time!"

"Not a great type choice. Take it down with a Rock Throw, Geodude!"

"Zubat, evade and use Supersonic!"

Zubat was able to fly high enough to avoid the vast majority of the rocks and skillfully flew through the few higher ones. It then used Supersonic, effectively confusing Geodude.

"Geodude, use Stealth Rock!"

"Zubat, Astonish!"

Zubat went first and used Astonish, causing Geodude to flinch.

"Zubat, you did well," Iruka said, recalling the bat. "Piplup, finish Geodude off with a Bubble attack!"

"Geodude, Stealth Rock again!"

Geodude was still confused and it hurt itself in its confusion. Soon, it was surrounded by a massive amount of bubbles. They all popped, one after another. When they were all gone, Geodude lay there, defeated.

"You guys are incredible, but I'm determined to take one of you down. Onix, go!"

Iruka recalled Piplup and sent Zubat out again.

"Zubat, Supersonic!"

"So that's your plan. It won't work this time, though! Onix, Stealth Rock!"

Zubat, the faster of the two, used Supersonic and confused Onix. Onix hurt itself in Confusion. Roark was determined to lay down a Stealth Rock so he could put a dent in Iruka's plans. Iruka recalled Zubat and sent Piplup out again.

"Onix, Stealth Rock!"

"Piplup, Bubble!"

Onix hurt itself in confusion again and Piplup's Bubble did some major damage.

"Onix, Rock Throw!"

"One more Bubble!"

Onix snapped out of Confusion and used Rock Throw. Piplup took the hit, but shook it off and attacked right back. Onix couldn't handle anymore damage and it fainted.

"One more and that badge is mine." Iruka said.

"I see where Naruto gets his sneakiness from, but your luck is about to run out!"

"We'll see about that." Iruka said. Again, he switched Piplup out with Zubat.

"Cranidos, we can beat him! Use Leer!"

"Zubat, Supersonic!"

Cranidos lowered Zubat's defense and Zubat confused Cranidos.

"Zubat, come back!"

"Cranidos, Pursuit!"

Cranidos attacked the withdrawing Zubat, nearly knocking it out, but not quite.

"Piplup, use another Bubble!"

"Cranidos, Headbutt!"

Cranidos used Headbutt despite being confused, but instead of colliding with an adorable blue penguin, it collided with a wall of bubbles.

"Cranidos, try it again! Use another Headbutt!"

"Piplup, take it down with one last Bubble!"

Cranidos was charging towards Piplup, but Piplup just stood there. When Cranidos was about to hit Piplup, Piplup stepped out of the way and hit Cranidos with a Bubble from behind. Cranidos swayed a bit more and he fell.

"Ah, Roark-kun, I do believe you said something about my luck running out." Iruka said, a wide grin on his face.

"Eh, I guess that's just the way it is. You were strong and I was weak, that's all there is to it. Take the Coal Badge, you deserve it. Take this TM as a bonus too." Roark sighed. "You guys really know how to wear a guy out. Two tough battles in a row, both my Pokémon and I need a break. Do you mind coming back later this afternoon?"

"You need rest, I need food and me and Iruka-sensei have to heal our Pokémon so we'll be back after that. Then we get to see Kakashi-sensei battle!" Naruto said.

"Maa, Naruto, more food?" Kakashi mocked.

"You can't blame me! I'm a growing boy." Naruto replied cheekily.

"Growing into what? A hippo?" Iruka chuckled.

"Hey! That was totally uncalled for!" Naruto yelled.

The group walked out of the gym, Roark watching them go with a smile on his face at their actions. He was looking forward to the next (and thankfully last) battle.

* * *

ANII: THANK GOD! That chapter was hell to write! I just couldn't write Kakashi's battle into it or my head would have exploded. Sorry for all the exclamation points. I imagine there is a lot of yelling during Pokémon battles, you know with the excitement and all. Which was your favorite battle? Are you excited for Kakashi's? I know I am. I haven't written it yet but I know where it's going to go. ;] Sorry if it the battles were really repetitive. Roark's Pokémon REALLY don't have many moves. Or any variety… Hopefully my next update won't take two years… Again, I'm sorry about that. Well, until next time!

Ja ne! ^_^


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I am back and I bring with me the final battle of the Oreburgh City Gym! It's a bit on the short side, but it's a battle and they finally continue on their journey in the next chapter. Btw, I got a new laptop so hopefully, I can update more often! Yay! So without further ado, let the chapter begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or the Pokémon franchises. If I did, I wouldn't be here, duh!

* * *

Back at the Pokémon Center, Naruto was stuffing his face with riceball after riceball, Gai was staring, amazed by how much Naruto could eat and Iruka was switching back and forth between telling Naruto to slow down and try not to choke and watching Kakashi stare at his Pokéballs with a contemplative look on his face.

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Iruka asked.

"Nothing; I'm just going over my strategy." Kakashi replied.

"How do you think you'll do?"

"I plan on beating him with one Pokémon and one Pokémon only."

"Isn't that a little too… Cocky?"

"On the contrary, it's actually quite realistic seeing as I only have one Pokémon that stands a chance." Kakashi mumbled.

"That's right… Your Staravia is a flying type and Shinx's electric attacks don't do much damage to rock Pokémon."

"Which only leaves Monferno; but you've seen how I trained him. This battle shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Kakashi! Are you aware that your youthful charge can eat 30 riceballs in one sitting!" Gai interrupted.

"Maa, that's nothing. You should see what he can do to ramen after a harsh training session."

"I believe his record is 40 bowls." Iruka added.

"45." Naruto corrected. "And 30 extra-large bowls." He added with a grin.

By this time Gai was not only astounded by how much Naruto could eat, but by his other two companions' calm reaction to it. His jaw was literally on the ground, but he picked it up, cleared his throat, and with nice guy pose number 261 he proclaimed, "Young Naruto, when we return to our wonderful home of Konoha I challenge you to a curry eating competition! No one can eat more curry than I can! Especially if it's super spicy!"]

Naruto sweatdropped. Is this what Kakashi had to go through all the time? No wonder he avoided Bushy Brow Sensei… "Uh… Okay?" He said. Gai cheered but before he could start on a rant about youth and whatnot, Iruka cut in reminding everyone that it was time to head for the gym.

* * *

"Glad you made it guys. You have no idea how psyched I am for this battle!" Roark said

"Sorry to disappoint, but you won't be able to enjoy it for long. I plan to end it quickly." Kakashi said.

"Well, you sound confident. Come on Geodude, let's knock him down a peg!"

"Come on Monferno, let's finish this."

"Geodude, Stealth Rock!"

"A wasted move. Mach Punch, Monferno." In a flash Monferno moved from where it was standing and appeared before Roark's Geodude, punching it and sending it flying back a good distance.

"Maa, I think you may have overdone it there." Kakashi said.

"Wow! It's so fast!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's my rival!" Gai cheered.

"Your speed is great, but try taking down Onix!" Roark challenged.

"With pleasure. Monferno, Leer."

"Onix! Rock Throw!"

Monferno leered at Onix, who looked a little shaken up but it shook it off. Onix then proceeded to throw rocks at Monferno.

"Monferno, you know what to do. Dodge, then Mach Punch."

Monferno jumped from rock to rock, slowly climbing higher and higher until it was in the air. It charged up its Mach Punch and came down fast and powerful as its punch connected with Onix's head. Onix went down hard.

"No way! Not yet! I'm not giving up! Cranidos, let's see it try to keep up with you!"

"This is his last Pokémon, Monferno. We're almost done."

"Cranidos! Headbutt!"

"Wait for it…" Kakashi instructed. Cranidos came rushing towards Monferno but Monferno just stood there. "Almost…" Everyone was watching to see what Kakashi had planned. Why hadn't he attacked yet? "Now! Sidestep and use Mach Punch one last time." Cranidos was about to make contact and hit Monferno but Monferno sidestepped at the last second and punched Cranidos in its side, sending it off of its feet and gliding towards the wall. When the dust settled, Cranidos was lying face down, unable to fight. The battle was over.

"Well you were right. That was a quick battle. Unfortunately, it wasn't in my favor. Here, take this TM and your badge. You deserve it." Roark congratulated Kakashi and shook his hand. "As you guys know, I'm just the first gym leader you'll encounter on your journey. The rest are all stronger than I am, but I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thanks, Roark. And I'm sorry about the wall… Monferno packs quite the punch." Kakashi apologized.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be surprised how often it happens, actually. The battle's not fun if nothing gets destroyed." Roark grinned.

"Well, we better get going. In case you've forgotten, we need to find more of those black hole things, figure out what's causing them and get back home." Iruka said.

"Yeah! Iruka-sensei's right!" Naruto yelled. Turning back to the young gym leader, he said, "Maybe we'll see you around, Roark?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I'm bound to run into you guys again. I'm all over the place." Roark said. "Good luck on your journey!" He called to the retreating figures.

And so, our ninja quartet left the gym and gathered their supplies. Next stop! Back to Jubilife City!

* * *

ANII: So, they're off! Kind of sort of. Good news! The 29th of this month is Ninja Platinum's second Birthday! *party horns blow and confetti flies everywhere.* To celebrate, I will post this fic's tenth chapter! Yay! And is it just me, or does Iruka always seem to be the voice of reason? Anyway! I'll see you guys in thirteen days! Ja ne!


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Two years! This story has been going on for two years and I've only gotten through the first gym! Here's to a reasonably paced progression to this story whether it takes another two years or not! (Although I'd be really ashamed of myself if it took another two years to get through another gym…)

ps.: Today is also my mom's birthday so yay for that too!

pps.: Looking back at previous chapters, I realized that I totally forgot about Looker in our group's first visit to Jubilife. (oops!) So they get to meet him this time around! What Looker says in their first encounter is more or less what he says in the game with a few small exceptions.

ppps.: Let's play a game! Every time you read the word Pokéball, vortex, and/or Pokémon; take a shot of juice or something! (Yay, a drinking game!) Let's see how long it takes before you're all hyped up on sugar! Lol (I'm joking, of course. … Or am I?)

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters used in this story do not belong to me. The Pokémon Platinum universe and characters don't belong to me. I own nothing, dammit! Why does this site make me have to rub that in my own face every time I post something? It's depressing… -_-

* * *

Standing at the entrance to the Oreburgh Gate, the four Konoha ninja looked back at Oreburgh City.

"I'm gonna miss this place." Naruto said. "My first real gym battle and trade happened here."

"Don't worry, Naruto. I'm sure we'll be back." Iruka tried to reassure the blond genin.

"I'm actually glad to be leaving. It's only been a couple of days, but it feels like we've been here for years." Kakashi added.

"Our youthful journey must continue! We need to return home and assure everyone that we are still in our youthful primes!" Gai yelled.

"Gai-sensei is right." Iruka said. "We have to move on and find a way home."

With that, they all turned and entered the cave-like structure.

* * *

They were almost at the end of the cave when Naruto noticed another path they could take. Wanting to explore, he asked Kakashi and the others if they could see where it led. Wanting to refuse, (they still had to get to the next town, after all) he voiced his opinion on the matter but was met with resistance from the other two members saying that exploring would be a good idea and that they may even run into new types of Pokémon. With a sigh, Kakashi agreed and that's how they found themselves in their current predicament. Standing in front of a large rock blocking their path, the four ninja were discussing their options on how to get around the obstacle.

"Maa, I guess we have no choice. We have to turn back." Kakashi said.

"No way, Kakashi-sensei! Blow it up with a Raikiri or something!" Naruto said.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Iruka said.

"I agree with Iruka. Not only would that be a waste of chakra and energy for me, but it would draw attention us as well. Remember, Naruto, we're on a mission. We have to find out what's causing these odd vortexes. That means we have to gather information, meaning we have to talk to people and we can't do that if we stick out too much. It's bad enough we're three grown men who're only just beginning their adventure that's normally started by children two years younger than you are, but if word starts getting out that we have "weird powers", people will start questioning what's going on. Not to mention, we have no idea who else could've come through one of those vortexes and if we have enemies out there, the last thing we need to do is get into a fight, especially a possible fight in a city where there could be civilian casualties or massive property damage. Then where would that put us?"

"Damn, Kakashi-sensei, it was only a suggestion. Besides, who's here to hear us?" Naruto pouted.

"Naruto, you forgot that we're not the only ones in this cave, didn't you. There's that man that gave us that HM and the two trainers by the entrance. I'm sure the sounds of my Raikiri would draw attention to us."

"Right…" Naruto said. He'd totally forgotten about the other trainers in the cave. "You still didn't have to lecture me that badly."

"I would have had to anyway so it's better that I do now." Kakashi shrugged. "I actually should have explained this whole thing before we all left Sandgem but…" Kakashi trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck like he did sometimes.

"That's my Eternal Rival!" Gai exclaimed. "Always thinking ahead!"

"I agree with Kakashi 100 percent on this, Naruto." Iruka said. He gave Naruto a slightly apologetic smile when the blond turned to look at him with a face that exclaimed his feeling of being betrayed by his favorite sensei. "We're on a mission and it wouldn't do well to take any unnecessary actions that could jeopardize that mission. I thought I taught you that." Iruka added with a glare. "Anyway, while you were being lectured I noticed that this rock isn't like the others around here. Maybe these types of rocks are what that HM move is for."

"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked.

"Well, first we have to teach the move to one of our Pokémon. Question is: Which one do we teach it to?" Iruka said.

"Which of our youthful Pokémon are able to learn the move?" Gai asked.

"Well, I picked this up back in Jubilife. It's a handy guide of TMs and HMs, what they do and which Pokémon can learn them. I haven't been able to read it until now but according to this, out of the Pokémon we have in our possessions, Turtwig, Monferno, Bibarel, Kricketune, and Machop can learn it." Iruka supplied.

"Since all of Bushy-brow-sensei's Pokémon can learn it, I say we teach it to one of them." Naruto said.

"I second it." Kakashi agreed with an eye smile. He had returned to his aloof and somewhat silly demeanor instead of the no nonsense jounin that had lectured Naruto earlier.

"I actually think Gai-sensei's Bibarel should learn the move. According to this book, it can learn many other HM moves as well." Iruka said.

"So that settles it! My youthful Bibarel shall aid us through this obstacle and all other obstacles in this cave!" Gai exclaimed.

"As I'm sure you've all figured out by now, apparently these Pokémon can only know four moves at a time, so which one of Bibarel's moves will Rock Smash replace, Gai-sensei?" Iruka asked.

"Let us replace Growl!" Gai exclaimed.

Iruka (the only one out of the four of them who knew what they were doing with the thing) set the HM and 'poof!' Bibarel forgot Growl and learned Rock Smash! With that (finally) out of the way, the group proceeded ahead in the cave, Bibarel in front to get rid of any rocks they may encounter on the way. They didn't walk much before they reached what seemed to be a naturally made stone staircase leading into a lower part of the cave.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Naruto said, rushing ahead and going down the stairs. With a shrug the other three went down as well. Naruto wasn't shrieking in pain so it must be safe, right?

Once down there, they all looked around, impressed. The staircase led them all to an elevated platform that was a level higher than the rest of the floor with another staircase leading to the main part of the floor. It gave them a good vantage point of the floor below, which was set up as an impressive layout that seemed like a simple natural maze. They saw that there were two possible paths they could take.

"I think I see a Pokéball or something over there." Naruto said, pointing to a spot in the middle of the path on the left while trying to stretch himself higher so he could see it better.

"I think that path goes in a circle and would lead us to the bottom of this second staircase. If we take that path first, then we can just take the path to the right after that." Kakashi said. "Besides, it seems a lot shorter than the other so we might as well get it over with now."

"Alright then, let's go!" Naruto cheered. He was even more eager to explore now more than ever. He really wanted to know what that thing in the distance was!

The ninja made their way down the second flight of stairs and turned left, only to be met with another large rock. Getting rid of it, they turned left again (the only direction they could turn) and were met with another large rock. They broke that one too, of course. Going on, they made a right and then another right and after walking a little bit more they were met with a ledge to jump over so they could get to the Pokéball thing. They jumped over it and surrounded the Pokéball.

"Can I open it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Be careful. We don't know what's in there." Kakashi replied.

"I doubt it'll be harmful, Kakashi." Iruka said.

"You never know." Kakashi shot back.

Naruto made his way over to the ball and picked it up. After turning it around in his hands a few times he said: "It's not a regular Pokéball. It's just a container made to look like one. I think there's a TM in there or something!" He opened it and took out the disk that was inside. "I wonder what it is." Naruto said.

Iruka took the disk and looked it over, flipping through his book and comparing it to the pictures. "It's TM 70, Flash. Says here it lights up dark caves on the field and makes other Pokémon lose accuracy in battle." He said.

With new move in hand, the group hopped down the other ledge and were met with a wild Geodude , putting an end to their lucky streak of miraculously not running into any wild Pokémon. One of Bibarel's Water Gun attacks made quick work of it, though and the group carried on.

Making two more right turns, they ended up back where they started and began exploring the second path which started between two large stone walls that made up other paths and corridors in the cave. A small ways in, they were met with the decision to either take the shorter path ahead that involved a lot of rock smashing or taking the longer, rock-free path to the left. They made a left. Eventually they made it to the edge of the same body of water they walked along near the end of the first path they took after jumping off the second ledge and once again walked along the water's edge until they reached a breakable rock. Getting that out of the way, they made a right and kept walking until they saw a girl on a bike riding around. "Do you see those bumps on the ground?" She asked. "It feels awesome taking those fast on a bicycle." She grinned. Unfortunately, out Konoha nins didn't have bicycles so they couldn't try out her advice or advance farther into the cave, seeing as riding over those bumps were apparently the only way to get passed the row of small boulders blocking their way. They thanked the young lady for her tid-bit of information and kept walking a little more, making a quick right and found another Pokéball container. Gai went over to open it this time.

"It seems to be a large pearl of sorts!" He bellowed. Somewhere in the cave, a flurry of wings and Zubat screeches could be heard.

"That sure is a big pearl." Naruto said. "What's it do?" He asked. Everyone turned to look at Iruka.

"W-What?" The teacher asked. The stares they were giving him were creepy. Especially Gai's. It must have been the eyebrows…

"Well, you seem to be the one who knows a lot about this stuff, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have a book on general items so I don't know what that's for." Iruka said. "Though I suppose I can go looking for one when we reach Jubilife."

"Maa, that sounds like a plan." Kakashi said. "Now, since we can't get any further without any bikes, I suggest we leave now and maybe come back at some other time."

Agreeing with Kakashi, the team hopped the ledge and smashed the rocks blocking their exit. Going back up the stairs, they finally made it back to the place they were at before they decided to go exploring and left the Oreburgh Gate without incident.

Stepping onto the grassy ground of Route 203, Kakashi took a deep breath of fresh air. He wasn't very fond of caves (they were stuffy, stale and made him feel trapped) and rocks so he was glad to be out of that cave.

After the excitement of finding items in the cave, Naruto wanted to explore Route 203 more than they did the first time around. Kakashi agreed (One, items seemed to be of great use in this world and two, Kakashi wanted to enjoy the fresh air a little more before arriving in the big city) and instead of heading straight to Jubilife, they walked through a large patch of tall grass and ended up fighting a few wild Pokémon, giving the Pokémon who haven't seen any action in a while an opportunity to fight , and soon arrived at a small set of stairs leading down to a small path of land they hadn't seen before.

The little area was surrounded on two sides by a bunch of trees and its third side was occupied by a small body of water, like a pond or something. Spying a Pokéball container in the middle of the ground, Naruto ran over to it and opened it eagerly, revealing a green aerosol can of some sort. Turning around and coming back the way they came, the group turned right at the top of the steps to just jump off the ledge located at the edge of the grass patch. It was a good decision because they found another Pokéball container containing an odd blue cylindrical kind of item with a weird looking lid.

Hopping off the ledge, they continued heading towards Jubilife but took a detour into a path with trees on either side of it and made a right into a clearing with an item ball in the middle of it.

"Hey, this one's an actual Pokéball!" Naruto said.

"Why would someone hide a Pokéball in a container that looks like a Pokéball?" Kakashi asked.

"Does it matter? A Pokéball is a Pokéball." Naruto said. "Besides, I was starting to run low on these anyway, so every Pokéball counts!" He added with a grin. Jumping off the ledge at the edge of the clearing, (Why are there so many ledges to jump over?) the group finally made it to the giant steps leading to Jubilife City.

"To get to the next gym we have to head North, but we need to make a few stops first so we'll only (hopefully) have to spend a couple hours or so in town." Kakashi said as they made their way up the steps. Making their way to the intersection, they made a left and headed into the main part of town towards the Pokémon Center. They were nearing the trainer safe haven when Kakashi spied a suspicious man lurking around a lamp post. Lifting his hand in a sign to the other three ninja to stop, he pointed out the suspicious man in a trench coat and they cautiously moved forward.

"Sir, what are you doing?" Kakashi asked.

The man jumped, startled. "Whaat? How did you know? How did you unmask me as a member of the International Police?"

Kakashi and the other members of the team shared an incredulous look. Was this guy for real?

"Sir, no offense but you looked kind of suspicious." Iruka said.

"Nonsense! You recognized right away that I was someone extraordinary. That is why you spoke to me, is it not? Your powers of observation are fearsome! Quite admirable, you are!" The man closed his dark eyes and nodded his head in a sagely manor.

The four ninja traded another set of looks. Well, at least three of them did. Gai looked like he was about to hug the man or burst into one of his grand speeches of youth and stuff, complete with Nice Guy Poses and Sunset Backgrounds. (When it comes to Gai, those things have to have capital letters) Who knows, Konoha's Green Beast could be capable of doing both.

"Now that my cover has been blown, let me introduce myself." The dark haired man continued. "I am a globe-trotting elite of the International Police. My code name, it is Looker. It is what they all call me."

Naruto was starting to look a little bit excited by this point. The word 'elite' really caught his attention. By this point Iruka was starting to think that no matter what world or what position a person is in, if they were an elite in something, they couldn't be all there as shown by this elite police officer and the two elite ninja he was currently traveling with. (Hell, every elite ninja in Konoha and the entirety of the Five Shinobi Nations proved that every day.)

"Incidentally, is the saying, 'Don't be a thief!' familiar to you?" The police officer asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"Yes, I know the phrase." Kakashi lied.

Looker looked pleased. "Excellent! Then you know that taking what belongs to others is wrong. Unfortunately, there are apparently those who do not heed those words. In Sinnoh, in fact, there are criminals stealing the Pokémon of others. I have, therefore, been on the lookout for characters arousing my suspicion." Looker looked around again, as if emphasizing that point. "I have a request." He said, looking serious. (Well, he always looked serious. Now he just looked more serious, if that was possible…) "If you were to see me again, I ask that you not talk to me, for I am on duty." He said. However, after the words left his mouth, he frowned, a reconsidering look on his features. "Actually, yes, yes, you may speak to me. You must. Not because I am lonely, no, no! You must inform me of bad guys! You must inform me of any happenings!" With that said, the mysterious man (Well, he wasn't so mysterious anymore) turned around and left; most likely to do some more investigating.

"Do you think he was really an international police officer?" Naruto asked.

"He might be." Iruka asked.

"He is. He may not be as great as he claims to be, but he wasn't lying." Kakashi said.

"How do you know, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Trust me, when you've been a ninja for as long as I have, you tend to pick up on things like that." He replied. "Anyway; now that that's over, let's get back to doing what we came here to do. First thing's first, let's heal our Pokémon and get something to eat. We haven't eaten since before my battle back at Oreburgh this afternoon and its already getting dark. I'm sure some of us are getting pretty hungry; especially after that whole spelunking expedition." Kakashi teased, looking at Naruto the whole time. "After that, we'll try to find some type of guide on items and we'll head North to get to the next town."

"Sounds like a plan, Kakashi-sensei! I hope this Pokémon Center has ramen!" The blond ninja exclaimed.

* * *

With all their Pokémon at full health and their bellies full of food, (turns out this Pokémon Center DID have ramen) the crew left, intending to head to the Trainer's School right by the center. After all, that was where Iruka got the TM and HM guide, surely they would have other handy books as well.

Once leaving the Pokémon Center, they ran into Looker once again. This time, he informed them that Jubilife seemed clear of suspicious people and that they should always keep an eye out, then he left just as quickly as he arrived and seemed to head West.

Trading odd looks and a shrug, the four leaf nin crossed the road and entered the Trainer's School, Iruka making his way to the front of the classroom to talk to the person who seemed to be in charge. After being led to a nearby bookshelf, the brunet academy sensei picked out a few books and thanked the person before going back to the group and explaining what had just happened.

"The woman in charge of this place is very kind. Once I explained our situation, she seemed very excited about helping us out and handed me a bunch of book. She gave me a book about items that could be used in battle, on the field, items that could be sold for money, items that our Pokémon can hold and a book on Pokémon accessories. She said we're always welcome to stop by if we need anything else." Iruka said with a bright smile on his face.

"That's great, Iruka. We'll sort everything out once we get to the next town. Now that we've done everything we have to do, let's see if we can get to Floraroma Town before it gets too late." Kakashi said.

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei! Before we go, can we please check out the Pokétch Company building? I want to see if they have any new apps." Naruto said.

Glancing at the watch on his wrist, Kakashi sighed. He'd totally forgotten about the damn thing. He didn't even use it. "Is it really necessary?" He asked.

"Uh huh." Naruto nodded. "I use mine all the time! Come on, I bet we'll get something cool!"

"I agree with young Naruto-kun." Gai said.

Kakashi sighed. He'd figured as much. He'd sometimes catch Gai fidgeting and messing with the watch since he got it. In fact, the older ninja seemed quite fond of the thing. "Fine." He said. "But make it quick."

Naruto cheered and took off, running towards the large company's building. Gai ran off after him saying he had to make sure to keep an eye on the boy. Kakashi chuckled to himself at his rival's antics and he and Iruka walked towards the building at a more leisurely pace. Gai and Naruto made it to the place before the other two even reached the end of the block.

Reaching the intersection where they would have had to turn, Kakashi and Iruka hear a familiar voice shout, "Who are you hooligans?" coming from the northern end of town. Looking at each other, they exchanged a glance and in silent agreement, the two ran towards the old man's shout.


End file.
